Tempting Fate
by nothing-really-matters
Summary: Masks, guns, drugs, blood, headquarters? My life is like a comic. People say we're crazy; we'll get killed; we're just tempting fate. They're probably right. They love us, worship us, hate us and target us. But they won't change us. We're superheroes.


**Chapter 1. PROLOGUE**

**A/N:**_ So, here it is, my first ever piece of fan-fiction. In fact, it's the only fiction of any kind I've written since I was about seven. Please enjoy and review! Set in film-verse, however a few subplots from Kick Ass 2: Balls To The Wall may feature, however I doubt that my story will eclipse Balls To The Wall in terms of shock value. I'll do my best to be as original as possible, while keeping my characters written as tightly as possible to how I'd imagine their cannon counterparts would act. POV will shift around quite a bit, as will perspective._

**Warning: **_Contains violence and gore, strong coarse language, sex scenes, sexual references, drug use and mature themes; all involving a minor (one badass minor at that). Please don't read if it offends you. You have been warned. _

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Kick-Ass, or any of it's characters._

'Dave? DAVE!' The impatient voice of Mr. Lizewksi drifted up the stairs. Dave Lizewski woke up, but didn't move.

'Time to get up, kiddo, it's past midday.' Ugh. 'Katie called five times this morning, but I know you need your sleep. Make sure you call her back, she sounded worried.'

Dave registered Katie's name and he rolled onto his side, still keeping his eyes shut tightly despite the sunlight streaming in through his open curtains.

'Coming,' he called back faintly.

'Alright, I'm going over to Phil's place to watch the game. I'll be back by five. Get up soon, you're wasting the day. And ring Katie!'

'Mmm'kay,' Dave groaned into his pillow as he heard the door click shut downstairs. He finally forced his eyes open and lifted himself upright. Everything ached, but he was too tired and sore to remember why. He had a feeling the answer lay somewhere in the blur that was the last 18 or so hours. Mr Lizewski's car rumbled out of the driveway, and at that moment, Mindy Macready wriggled out from under the bed.

'Holy _shit_!' Dave yelped, throwing himself backwards against the wall, startled by her sudden appearance. He winced as his head thumped painfully and the room slid out of focus for a second. Mindy looked absolutely disheveled. Her hair was a mess, there was blood on her face still and deep purple bruises had blossomed on her jaw. It also looked as though she had been crying.

'Hit-Girl?' he exclaimed, freezing as the events of last night flooded his memory, clear and vivid.

'Mindy,' she reminded him.

'Are - Are you okay?' asked Dave tentatively.

'I've been better,' she muttered stiffly, running a hand through her hair.

'When did you get here?' asked Dave, recalling her stubborn refusal to spend last night at his house or go to a hospital.

'A few hours ago.' She did not elaborate, but there was a tense moment as they wordlessly acknowledged the reason that she was here. Truthfully, Mindy had known it was risky idea to visit Dave, but her initial stoicism had taken a backseat when she had arrived home by herself to the empty apartment. She'd allowed herself a few pussy-ass tears and looked up Dave's address.

'Sleep well?' she murmured, poking him in the ribs.

'Yeah, I'm exhausted. You?' He sensed that he shouldn't bring up last night yet until he was sure it was safe to do so without being met with another gun aimed at his head.

'Me too, but I couldn't sleep much,' admitted Mindy, looking away.

There was more uncomfortable silence as the two stopped to survey the scene in front of them. The sheets on the small bed, as well as the many towels littered about the room were bloodstained. Two pairs of combat boots, a bloody wetsuit and mask, two batons and a jet pack lay on the floor. Beside his bed, Dave noticed a stack of comics next to a pillow and small blanket where Mindy had obviously curled up next to him as he had slept. He fought the urge to cry for what felt like the hundredth time as it sunk in just how dependant on him she now was. Big Daddy had been the only person in Mindy's life until his death, and now Dave was the closest she had to family or even a friend. She might have killed more people than he cared to think about, have the vocabulary of a sailor and damn near ninja abilities, but she was still only eleven and he was intuitive enough to know that she was at her most fragile right now, no matter what she said or how tough her exterior seemed.

'You… Umm, you're sure you don't wanna go to the hospital or something? We should make sure you're not concussed.' Dave asked, jerking himself out of his reverie. Mindy let out a single, humourless laugh and shook her head.

'Look… Dave, I'm fine, alright? I'm gonna get my shit, and get the fuck out of here.' She sighed heavily. 'You won't hear from me after today. We're even now.' She shrugged resignedly and Dave looked at her sadly. 'I shouldn't have come here,' she mumbled as an afterthought, seemingly to herself.

'It isn't over, you know that. I'm here for-' He started, but she cut him off.

'No, you aren't. I know it's not over. D'Amico might be dead, but his son - the red douche - he's gonna want revenge. This is my fight, and for what it's worth, I don't want you getting killed.' She said all of this without looking at Dave.

'Mindy-' he said quietly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and sitting next to her, '-you really think I don't want revenge as bad as he does? I'm not ready to give it up either, and you can't do it on your own. For every guy you - err, we - killed last night, there's another lined up to take his place.'

'I get it, Dave, you wanna be a hero.' She said loudly over the top of him. 'The shithead screwed you over and it sucks balls, but you have to let it go. I'm not gonna stop you from going out and rescuing cats and helping little old ladies across the road, just leave D'Amico up to me and don't do anything stupid. I'm the _real_ superhero here. You - you have family, a girlfriend, by the sound of it-' she wrinkled her nose '-and friends… But me? Now that my Dad's gone, revenge is the only thing I have left.' There was a definite quaver in her voice now. She'd known that this was the right thing to do, but it sure didn't feel like it then.

'It doesn't have to be that way,' he said gently, putting an arm around her shoulders. 'You can stay with me for as long as you need. There must be someone - family or something… You have a chance at a normal life now.' Mindy snorted.

'Oh yeah? Well, I'm afraid it isn't quite that simple. You might have just decided to put on a wetsuit and gotten famous on Youtube, but I've been a superhero for nearly half my life. You can have your good intentions and go be the next spiderman and bash up some more Puerto Ricans thugs, whatever. You can do as many push ups and get shot at as many time as it takes until you're as good as me, but you can never be hardwired to fight quite like I am. I've killed hundreds of people and trained since I was five, and you think I'm just gonna give that up because it's _convenient_? Just because my Dad's dead? It's all I know.' Mindy said roughly, firing up at once. She had shrugged off Dave's arm, stood up and started pacing around the room, impeded slightly by the limp in her sore left leg.

'I - I know. I'm sorry… I didn't mean it like that. Look, what I meant was - please don't go running off anywhere yet.' Mindy looked at him incredulously. 'You just need some time to cool off, we'll find-.' Dave faltered under her glare.

'Uhh, you seem to be missing my point. What the _fuck_ would thatachieve? Sitting around on my ass worrying about my _feelings_? I'm a superhero, not just a little fucking kid.'

'I don't mean quitting being a superhero, no way! I mean… Look; I know I'm _nothing_ compared to you, but being Kick-Ass is just about the only thing that makes me feel good about myself. And it's not just "_your_ fight," I'm not backing down until Chris D'Amico is dead, or I am. There's no turning back for me either, you have to realise that.' His voice grew higher and higher as he spoke, but Mindy looked slightly abashed. 'Please just consider, if - if you found a place to live, in New York, with some family or something-'

'I don't have a family.' She interrupted ruefully. 'I can take care of myself.'

'Well… Promise you'll keep in contact with me, you need _someone_,' replied Dave as Mindy rolled her eyes. '-Then just think, someday we could work together…' He trailed off hopefully and there were a few seconds of silence in which he waited hesitantly for her reaction. Mindy stopped pacing and sank back down onto the bed, apparently deep in thought and her expression softened somewhat. He had struck a nerve.

'Seriously?' she asked, 'you _really_ wanna team up with _me_?' He nodded, and Mindy sighed heavily. Dave was taken aback by her abrupt change of tone.

'You have to understand, Dave, that in my world, you can't trust many people. It makes things even more dangerous and complicated,' she said quietly, parroting her father. 'But I like you. If I didn't, I'd have killed you by now.' Mindy waved a small hand carelessly, as though she was pointing out the obvious. 'And now, I don't have a choice but to trust you as well. You know my name and face, you probably even have my fingerprints and DNA on your stuff. But I didn't expect you to still want to have anything to do with _me_… After getting dragged into all that bullshit.'

'I do. Really. I'll do whatever it takes to be a proper hero and kill Chris D'Amico. And I'll be here for you. Even Batman has Alfred.' Dave looked at her imploringly. She smiled, but shook her head slowly at the same time.

'You're sure? Because It'll be tough. And dangerous. You'll have to keep up with me.' Mindy warned, but there was an edge of almost childish excitement in her voice, her stubborn independence apparently forgotten.

'Of course I'm sure. Being a superhero made my life interesting for once. Fucked up, yeah, but just imagine; you can teach me to fight, and we can take down D'Amico once and for all. We can make a real difference. We'll be _**unstoppable**_.'

Finally, Mindy looked up at Dave, her eyes shining, and for the first time, Dave thought that he caught a glimpse of the little girl behind the blood and guns and mask. She held her gaze for a couple of seconds, swallowed hard and bit her lip.

'Partners?' asked Dave.

'Partners.'


End file.
